Lovers at heart
by EnlargedCheeseBlock
Summary: A love story between two people, Sanaa Maktoub and Erik Thorn.


_Thinking_. If one only knew Maverick from a surface view, one could believe that thinking was his favorite hobby. He often sat quietly by himself and simply thought. It was as natural as someone chewing their nails when nervous.

The cafeteria was quiet at this time of day. A few tired stragglers sat around in the open space, having discrete conversations or eating by themselves. Maverick's train of thought was interrupted when someone took a seat opposite of him on the rectangular table.

"Good morning, Erik."

"Morning, Ms. Maktoub," Maverick replied. It was Sanaa, codename Nomad. To Maverick, Sanaa always seemed to be an adventurous woman, always seeking new experiences and pouncing on opportunities both in the field and in training. He could admire that about her, well, he _did_ admire that about here, but Erik was not much like that. He preferred the quiet and stability rather than risk. They were near polar opposites in that respect. "How are you doing today," he proceeded.

"Fine, fine. You?"

Erik shrugged and took a sip of lukewarm water. "It's a normal day. Just taking a moment to relax before I go work up a sweat."

"As am I. I doubt we'll get an easy workout today." Nomad leaned back against the back of her chair and crossed her arms. She closed her eyes, and if Maverick hadn't known better, he could have mistaken her to be sleeping. Maverick finished the last drink of his water and fixed his eyes on her from across the table. He observed her still face. Her olive skin was smooth, and she had defined cheekbones that formed smooth ridges along her face. He trailed down her murky river of hair with his eyes, admiring its beauty.

Nomad peeped open an eye. "What'cha looking at?"

"Nothing," he replied calmly. "Just thinking."

"About what?"

"Nothing important."

"Oh, come on. Tell me."

"Trust me, it's nothing."

Nomad leaned forward in her chair and gazed into Maverick's eyes which made him rather uncomfortable. "Please?" She gave a puppy-eyed look; it was nearly irresistible.

Maverick sighed. He would regret this. "A woman," he revealed. "Can you back off now?"

Nomad flashed a toothy grin, being pleased with her interrogation and sat back down. "_Which_ woman?"

He had expected the followup question and decided to ignore her.

"Fine," she said, "guess I'll just have to find out later, won't I?"

"You won't," Maverick replied with a smirk. Nomad scoffed playfully and went to put away her dishes. He enjoyed the brief talks they had. They often jabbed each other with playful insults and jokes. Sometimes they shared light gossip between each other, and sometimes they dove into deeper topics. That was all they were, though: friends.

Maverick watched from afar as she set her empty tray at the counter, pulled her hood over her head, and left the cafeteria. He crumpled his paper cup and tossed it out before heading off for exercises.

Throughout the day, Erik stole glances at Sanaa, never daring to let her catch his eye. She might have noticed him looking once or twice, but it didn't matter much to him. He thought her to be a beautiful woman. He liked her outgoingness and her optimistic outlook on every matter. Did he have a crush on her? Of course. Would he admit to anyone? Absolutely not. To Erik, the idea of a crush was childish. If he really wanted her, he'd talk to her more, do things with her, and maybe even ask her out. But he was content… Or so he thought. Every now and then, Erik noticed himself daydreaming of Sanaa when he shouldn't have or even staring at her for much longer than appropriate. So, maybe there was something deeper playing a role in his confused love life that he intentionally wasn't picking upon.

The day's training and exercises had finished and a group of operators, Maverick included, sat around together in the cafeteria. When not being used as an actual cafeteria, the space was regularly used as a rough lounge.

The group that Maverick was sitting with was playing cards and chatting noisily. He played a few hands of various games, but cards never really interested him much. He preferred to just relax and have a good conversation with a drink in his hand. The group did start up a few conversations. Castle began with bragging about being able to bench a few more pounds, and twitch and a few other females gossiped lightly about some of the other operators with Elias, codename Blitz. Maverick couldn't help but chuckle at some of the things they gossiped about; especially when Elias threw some thick tea into the mix. His little stories and comments about some of the other girls, and even some guys, usually earned him giggles and laughs.

Erik ended up playing a hand of Go Fish (of all games one could pick). He reckoned he'd head off to bed within the next ten or fifteen minutes, as training would be starting earlier tomorrow and he needed his rest. However, his mind changed instantly when he pried his eyes from the intense game and noticed Sanaa enter. It looked as if she had just recently gotten out of the shower because her hair was damp and she was wearing regular clothes: leggings and sweatshirt with rolled-up sleeves that had some Arabic phrase written across the front.

She sat at the same table as him and immersed herself with the others. While Erik was playing, he secretly hoped that Sanaa would notice him and maybe even talk to him. At the very least a glance would satisfy him. The game ended; she still hadn't even looked at him. Erik sat back in his chair and stole a glance at Sanaa. She was so beautiful. Everything from her warm smile to her defined curves made him silently yearn for her. The yearning was hard to contain. It burned inside him like a roaring blaze, and every time he admired Sanna, someone threw more and more oil onto that blaze.

Erik lowered his eyes for a moment and cursed breathlessly. _It's hopeless,_ he thought. Smoke went about dealing the next round of cards. Erik's hand was decent. He had one pair of tens to start off with and was able to snag a couple more pairs as the round went on. Cards went around with light curses as cards were stolen and pairs placed down. Sanna suddenly stood up and stretched; Erik stole a glimpse of her briefly exposed midriff with a hidden smirk. He went on playing, expecting her to head off and find something more interesting to do.

There was a sudden commotion that made everyone at the table jump. Sanna had bumped into the table and knocked over a cooler full of half-melted ice that was sitting on the edge of the table. The ground quickly became a wet cold mess. She apologized sincerely and squatted down to pick up the cooler. When she did so, Sanna placed a hand on Erik's shoulder to support herself. Sanna grabbed the cooler and slipped her hand from his shoulder. Montange, being the gentleman he was, helped clean up the watery mess. Sanna hurried away to the kitchen to grab something to mop up the water. Erik watched her closely and made sure no one was focused on him. Most of the operators had already gone back to what they were doing. Erik slid a hand into his pants pocket. A little piece of folded paper tickled the tips of his fingers. He unfolded it slowly as to not let anyone notice that he was fumbling inside his pocket. What was written on the paper, he did not know; he did know it should be kept a secret. The scrap of creased paper remained hidden in his pocket for the remainder of the night. The game of Go Fish seemed to go on and on forever. Every time there was a break in the moving cards he would put his hand in his pocket and slowly move the paper scrap around, fantasizing its message. It could be a little love message. Or it could be her quiet way of telling him that she had no feelings for him whatsoever. Erik agreed with himself that it would be ridiculous for someone to do such a thing instead of simply telling him straight to his face. He walked backward along his path of thoughts for a moment and remembered that Sanna couldn't have even known that he liked her, meaning that the latter intent of the paper was out of the question.

A jittery feeling jumped through him. He would just have to wait until he was alone to figure it out.

The tingle-inducing feeling of privacy didn't come too long after Sanna had made her scene in the cafeteria. Eleven-O-clock came around, and the litter of operators headed off to their respective rooms. Erik quietly turned the lock to his door and only took off his outer jacket before he plopped down on the hard bed in the corner of the small room. The moment he had been waiting nearly all night for had come. While gazing at the blank ceiling, he pulled out the little scrap of paper and flattened out between his fingers. On the crumpled white surface was a simple message:

_Meet me. 23:30 tomorrow night behind the building._

At the bottom of the scrap, there were faint pencil lines that were almost entirely erased. He couldn't quite make out what the erased words read, but he thought he could make out Sanna's name.

Erik clasped the paper in his palm and laid back completely and stared at the ceiling. All sorts of thoughts were rushing in and out of his mind. Some proposed that she loved him with a burning passion, while some said that all she wanted was quick sex. He hoped the former was true, but either would be better than lying in bed alone every night. He rolled over and without bothering to change out of his day clothes, he switched off the light and tried to get some sleep. It was hard. His mind was constantly being flooded with vague fantasies and thin hopes of what fruit their meeting would bear.

Sleep must've taken him over without him noticing because the horrid beeping of his alarm clock that made him want to claw the wires right out the device woke him at the standard 05:30. Erik went through his usual routine: shower, dress, and eat. However, one thing was different today. He just couldn't seem to get Sanna out of his head at all. It distracted him so much at times that Thatcher once had to bark orders right into his face to get him to snap out of his racing thoughts. Erik tried his best to focus. The times he could focus best was when they were going through strenuous exercises. They kept him in line and his attention fixed on the task at hand. During lunch, he was too tired and much too hungry to think of anything other than eating. In the afternoon they split up into small groups and went for separate ten-kilometer runs. Erik's mind was free to wander as far as it desired during the run. Of course, it wandered right to Sanna. He thought of her body; its smooth outline, curvy hips, strong shoulders, and warm thighs. Erik, enticed by her message, wanted nothing more than her. He couldn't stop thinking about her. Every waking second of the day seemed to be focused right on Sanna. It infuriated him as well as filled him with a joy similar to that of a child waiting for when it was time to open presents during their birthday party. He held the paper scrap in his palm.

Night came and he was tired. Erik rinsed off the sweat and grime from the day's work and joined the usual gaggle of people in the cafeteria. Like last night, there wasn't much going on except cards and conversation. He drowned out the slow ticking of time by playing cards. It worked. Before he knew it, the hand on the clock shifted over the big eleven, signaling 23:00. Erik offered to stay and clean up the unremarkable mess that the operators left. There were a few crumbs strewn about and an empty water bottle. He swiped them up and tossed them out. Erik brushed his hands together to clean them and took in a deep breath. His eyes shifted over to the clock that read eleven ten. There was nothing else to do except wait, so he flipped off the light in the cafeteria and quietly walked along the dark hallway that led to the main door. He pushed it open and was greeted by a cool rush of the summer's night air. Sanna probably wouldn't be at the spot until the time that was written on the message, but he didn't mind waiting by himself for a bit.

After about ten minutes, Erik heard the snapping of twigs and rustling of grass which clearly indicated the tromping of feet. He glanced at his watch and saw that it read 23:22. Sanna then appeared around the building and jumped in surprise when she saw Erik standing there against the metal wall.

"What the hell!" she exclaimed with a quiet hiss. "I didn't think you'd already be here so early."

"Sorry," he said unapologetically. "Had nothing else to do, so I thought I'd just wait." Sanna stepped over a small pile of broken cinder blocks and stood next to him. "So," he said, smirking, "What's with the note and the secret meeting?"

"I don't know. Just thought we may want some privacy."

"Privacy for what?" he pressed.

"To talk," she replied plainly.

"Well, I'll start by saying that was quite the scene you made in the cafeteria."

She smirked. "Did you like it?"

Erik readjusted himself against the wall. "It was creative." A silence accompanied by the chirping of crickets and the gentle breeze ensued. Erik's eyes began to adjust to the darkness, and he stole a glance of Sanna. In the moonlit night, her olive skin shone smooth and flawless. Her black river of hair gleamed dully like liquid obsidian. "Should I say it or you?" he asked at last.

Sanna exhaled slowly from her nose and gazed out at the dark landscape. Without turning to face him, she said, "I've been watching you for a while. Well, not in a creepy kind of way. Truth is, Erik, I like you; I have for a long time." She finally turned her head; their eyes met.

Something warm began to spread within Erik. It seemed familiar but he couldn't put a finger on it. Perhaps it was just excitement? Maybe it was love? "And what if I said that I also liked you, Sanna?"

A smile came across her face. It was fox-like and showed a touch of unsureness. "Then I'd want to kiss you right now. " Sanna both took a step toward him so that they were only inches apart. Sanna's hot breath tickled Erik's neck. He closed his eyes and tilted his head down. For a second, he felt nothing, but then the softness of lips met his, causing a feeling of bliss to run through him. Her lips overlapped his, and he pressed further into her. Their simple kiss turned to making out. Erik wrapped his arms around her waist. Nothing filled him except for pure desire and affection for Sanna. He almost a couldn't believe he was actually making out with her. The moment seemed surreal like a dream, but he knw dreams didn't feel this good. They kissed passionately for another minute before Sanna pulled away.

"Sorry," she breathed. "I was running out of breath." Erik laughed and Sanna giggled. "You think we should take this somewhere else? It's kind of cold out here."

They fled into the building. Erik quickly and quietly unlocked the door to his room. "Here we are, Ms. Maktoub."

Sanaa stepped inside but couldn't help but chuckle. "Why do you call me that, Erik?"

"Call you what?"

"Ms. Maktoub."

He shrugged. "What else would I call you?"

"Uh, my name."

"Alright then, I just call you Sanaa from now on."

"That's better," she smiled. "Ms. Maktoub sounds too… formal; I guess?" She sat down on the edge of his bed while he sorted something out. "So, can you tell me the girl now?"

"Really?" he laughed.

"What? I'm curious." A sheepish grin spread across her face. "Is it Twitch?"

"No."

"IQ?"

"No."

"Ooh, how about Ela? I know a lot of guys think she's got a nice ass."

"No."

Sanaa frowned and brushed a loose wisp of hair from her face. "You sure you were even thinking of a girl?"

"I was, I'll give you that; just none of the ones you listed. I really thought you would have gotten it by now," he said.

"It was me, wasn't it?"

Erik smirked slyly and tossed his jacket aside to a corner near the dresser. "If you don't mind me," he said, "I'm going to put on something more comfortable."

Sanaa certainly didn't mind at all and sat down on the edge of his well-kept bed. However, she didn't expect him to shed his shirt right in front of her in the middle of the room. With his back turned to her, she admired his bare back and arms that were corded with thick but lean muscles. It was quite clear to her why Erik was always the one she thought most about. He was such a nice and polite person and had a certain charm that always managed to latch onto her whenever he was around her. And though she wanted him for his personality, the other evidence for why she was so attracted was on clear display for her.

Erik tossed his shirt and coat aside and snatched a clean shirt from the floor and put it on. "Would you care for a drink?" he asked, walking over to a small desk and opening its drawer.

"What kind of drink are we talking about?"

"I got whiskey, a couple cans of beer, a bit of vodka, and some others."

"Alcohol on base? I would've never expected you to be such a bad boy," she jeered playfully. "I'd love a splash of whiskey, though."

Erik smiled and poured two glasses of his liquor. "There's a lot you don't know about me." Erik sat down on the bed next to her and they both drank. "So how long have you wanted me?" he asked with a twinge of curiosity.

Sanna finished off her drink and looked up at the ceiling as if it would give her the answer. "A long time," she concluded. "I don't know what it was that made me think of you so much." She looked outward. "Well, you are a fantastic guy, Erik."

"Really?" he said incredulously. "I'm thirty-six years old, have more scars than I can count, and am considered an introvert by most."

"I don't care." She leaned forward into him and kissed him again. Her hands explored up his abdomen and to the sides of his face. He barely had time to set down his glass before Sanna took him completely. It all happened so quickly that Erik failed to fully grasp what had actually happened between them. Just a few days ago they were nothing more than semi-close friends that exchanged stupid jokes and witty comments during their breaks. Now they were in love and seemingly inseparable at this very moment.

**Expect another chapter,****yeah? (Hint: the M rating wasn't for this chapter)**


End file.
